Equestrian program has national champion as grads place into equestrian careers

BILLINGS, May 6, 2014 – The Rocky Mountain College equestrian program has its first national champion, while the program’s graduating seniors have placed into selective and competitive career slots.

On Sunday, May 4, at the Intercollegiate Horse Show Association (IHSA) national championships in Harrisburg, Pa., freshman Bekah Thomson won RMC’s first ever equestrian national championship. Thompson, from Santa Clarita, Calif., eased her way through regional and zone championships undefeated and continued her winning ways at the national championships.

Thomson took her national championship in the category of Intermediate Western Horsemanship, coached by RMC equestrian coaches Allison Grow and Chris Brown. The equestrian program has produced top ten finishers at the IHSA championships, but Thomson is RMC’s first national champion.

The equestrian program’s success also continued for recent graduates. Ten 2014 graduates have placed into very competitive career positions. Examples of those placements include:

Tricia Hoefeldt of Winner, S.D., will be an assistant trainer at Mike Hawkins Performance Horses in Chino Hills, Calif.

Amber McNally of Spanaway, Wash., will be an assistant trainer at Dunham Performance Horses in Jonesboro, Ark.

Josh Tishman of Jefferson, Maine, took a position as assistant trainer at Shawn Johnson Reining Horses in Kellyville, Okla.

Becca Wolf of Boise, Idaho, will be assistant trainer at Mark Harrell Horse Shows in St. Louis, Ill.